Fitness Journey

In the beginning I was a 206lb "flabalicious" fat guy rapidly approaching the big 3-0. So, how am I doing? Today, about seven months in, I weighed 166.6lbs. Over the holidays I went back up to 178 lbs, but now I am working on reaching my goal of 159 lbs, 7% body fat, and a Ninja Warrior ready body.

Archive for the ‘illness’ Category

Well the day did not start well, since when I arrived at the gym it was just under 40 degrees and I quickly discovered that the gym was locked- stranding me and the staff outside. When they finally got someone down there to open the gym I had missed the chance to perform my usual mobility program (although I had performed a shortened version on the cold concrete outside). I was also still coughing up all kinds of fun stuff from my lungs. Based on the above I decided to do a shortened (20-30 minute) workout of just a few compound exercises for low reps and one set a piece. Something that would allow me to feel my muscle working without getting my lungs too upset.

I felt pretty weak as I struggled through a leg press, dumbbell dead lifts, push-ups, one-legged squats, and (more…)

The doctor called this morning. You know it isn’t going to be a good call when they say, “We have some good news and some bad news for you.” Of course she told me the goods news first, and of course all I could think of was, well what is the bad news??? (more…)

Today my wife and daughter got a chance to go visit Kane at the hospital- I am quite jealous. Judging by the pictures all three of them had a lot of fun.

My wife got to meet Kane’s doctors- who are by the way totally awesome! You couldn’t imagine kinder, more knowledgeable, nicer, more considerate and patient doctors than the three doctors (one is a professor and the other two are residents).

They were even nice enough to answer my question about whether life in a vet hospital is anything like Scrubs. Their answer. It is more like Scrubs than Grey’s Anatomy.

Well without further adieu, here are tow videos of Sasha and Kane playing around. Well mostly it is her playing around and Kane tolerating her.

And this…

I know, I know, that is probably too much cuteness to handle at one time so take a second, take a deep breath and click the read more bottom… (more…)

On a more positive note we saw Kane for about an hour. We walked outside with Kane and the doctors and learned how to help him pee by squeezing on his bladder- fun times. We saw some improvement in him placing a small amount of weight on his hind legs- YEAH!

Then we went into a comfy visiting room where Sasha prayed for Kane and we hung out together for a while. Here are some of the pictures and video from our visit.

How about the cutest thing first? Here is a video of Sasha and Kane together- sorry for the no sound, our digital cam stinks.

First, thank you ALL for your prayers and kind comments over the last two days. You have helped us immensely, and your thoughts and prayers have been a greater blessing than we could ever hope to thank you for. But I must say the words that can’t possibly repay you, THANK YOU. If only I could give each and everyone of you a big hug.

Since Kane’s care doesn’t come cheap, and some have already asked if they could help out with a small donation, I decided to post a link here for those who want to provide some financial assistance for Kane’s care. If you want to help us pay for Kane’s treatment (MRI, surgery, etc.) please click on the link below which will take you to PayPal.

FYI: Current estimates for Kane’s care are $2,000 to $2,500 for his diagnostic treatments (x-rays, blood tests, MRI, exams, etc.) and, these numbers aren’t solid since the diagnostics won’t be completed until tomorrow, about $2,000 to $3,500 for surgery- depending on what he needs. We will know much more by tomorrow when he has his MRI, but the doctors think it is best to take him straight from his MRI to surgery- if it is required- since it is best to only put him under anesthesia once.

If you want to cut out the PayPal middle man (or you simply don’t have a PayPal account) just email totaltransformation@yahoo.com and I will gladly give you an address where you can send a check or money order. I appreciate all your help- and our whole family thanks you for your prayers and donations. Keep in mind that since I am NOT a 501(c)3 organization your donations are NOT tax deductible- even if they are enormously appreciated.

A page from out adoption photo album. It features Kane and Lucius.

UPDATE: Kane is going for his MRI at 2:40 p.m. and will have his surgery immediately afterward if it is required. The spot on his lung turned out to be nothing and his blood work looked great. Praise God!

After processing the news of Tony Snow’s passing I knew there was something I had to do. I had to pay a visit to the Daily Kos and see what the folks over there thought of the passing of this genuinely good and kind man who left behind a wife and three children. What I found what about as revolting as the time back in college when I accidentally took a swig from my roommates dip bottle- which was all to inconspicuously disguised as an ordinary Coke bottle and in very close proximity to my Coke bottle.

I will warn you that the comments are quite vulgar. I must also give props to those on the comment board who had the moral courage to condemn those spewing pointless vitriol- thank you all for standing up to a conmmon decency that knows no political bounds.

Why am I republishing these awful comments? I think that republishing these comments on this blog can lead to a teachable moment, a moment I will capitalize on next week in a post under the intellectual transformation series. [Note: All of the below quotes can be found at this thread on the Daily Kos]

“Tony knew that his boss was full of shit and that he was lying to the American people everyday. He gets no kudos for being a lying sack of shit. Yes its terrible for his young children, but it is also terrible for the young children of soldiers who keep getting killed because of the bullshit this lying sack of crap spewed everyday from his podeium. rest in hell.” -Rogereaton

One can have little doubt that what the poster (and countless other folks after him) considered “lies” were more likely than not points of political difference- instances where Tony Snow or those he represented drew different conclusions from the same facts. Yet, Mr. Eaton is more than happy to condemn Tony Snow to the darkest pits of hell because of their political disagreements. I guess we are lucky this guy isn’t actually in charge of who gets what final destination. Aside: For those of you looking for the proper application of the admonishments against judging others found in the New Testament, here you have a perfect example.

“I am a little baffled by the kind words for Mr. Snow on this blog today. Here was a man who could have used his talents to better the world, and he chose to do the complete opposite. I am not sure how he slept at night. My condolances (sic) to his family, but I can’t be sad that he’s gone.”- unionsally

While I am glad she expressed some concern over Tony Snow getting some rest- since we all know a good nights sleep is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle- some might consider it a tres bit gauche to make sweeping moral claims about the dead. Perhaps we can all find some way to at least stay quiet if we can’t say anything nice about those recently departed.

“You were my favorite of the Bush administration’s apologistic (sic) panderers. You were a good spokesman for the side of evil and if not for your cancer, would have easily had a promising career in televangilism (sic) should you have chosen to pursue one.”- Juliewolf

The best that I can say is that perhaps this is an attempt at humor that took a disappointing turn. Note how she connects Tony Snow with “the side of evil” and suggests a possible career in televangelism- since we all know televangelists are horrible people right? All I want to know is whether Ms. Wolf was among those who decried President Bush when he called North Korea, Iran, and Iraq an “axis of evil.” (A statement I had problems with at the time, although no doubt for completely different reasons. Especially since I do believe that the North Korean governmental system is a clearly evil system.) (more…)

Wee I weighed in yesterday at 180.4lbs. Still hanging around my Christmas weight, so not much has changed. My workout this morning was my second workout back from my recent illness, and it proved that I haven’t fully recovered. The workout was fairly toned down: moderate weight, high reps (12-20), and three groups of exercises that alternated muscle groups. However, about 2/3s of the way through my workout I started feeling nausea and I even crosses out my last exercise and had to give up.

As I stood in the showers I felt sick to my stomach and I had to sit down at my locker post shower to catch my breath and let my stomach settle. Maybe it wasn’t just the illness though as today I was evaluated in my position as a teaching assistant. And guess what, I had to give a discussion on the Holocaust. Rough stuff.